\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Charles I<\/a> had a fractious relationship with Parliament from the beginning of his reign, in 1625, not helped by his zealous belief in the \u2018divine right of kings\u2019. Like his father James VI and I<\/a>, Charles considered himself answerable only to God and so subject to no earthly authority. Such high ideals of royal power made him appear, at least, intransigent and arrogant and, at worse, autocratic.<\/p>\n Tensions mounted as monarch and MPs argued over foreign policy, finances and Charles\u2019s marriage to the Catholic Henrietta Maria. He further angered Parliament when he imposed a tax without their consent to pay for his war with France; then imprisoned without trial those who refused to pay, and implemented martial law and the billeting of troops.<\/p>\n In 1628, Parliament issued a Petition of Right, seeking redress to these grievances. The move demonstrates how concerned MPs had grown about the prospect of a king who believed he derived his authority from God holding himself above the rule of law.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 1629, Charles dissolved his combative parliament and went on to rule for the next 11 years without one, a period known as the Personal Rule. Being without a parliament to raise taxes actually brought about a period of stability in England as Charles needed to end his costly wars with France and Spain, but he also had to exploit questionable means of making money, such as citing outdated laws to fine gentlemen or selling monopolies.<\/p>\n The most unpopular earner was \u2018ship money\u2019, a levy on coastal communities to fund the navy in times of war, which Charles issued multiple times and, from 1635, extended to inland towns. Those who did not pay faced trial, most notably Buckinghamshire landowner and MP John Hampden. The court\u2019s verdict in 1638 favoured the king, but only by seven votes to five, which emboldened opposition to ship money and struck a blow to Charles\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Of all the policies of Charles\u2019s Personal Rule, the religious reforms caused most alarm. Protestantism was the established religion and Catholics had been persecuted or driven underground since Tudor times. Shortly after his accession, Charles had married a French princess who openly practised her Catholicism, which raised suspicions among the largely Puritan members of parliament.<\/p>\n Concerns were exacerbated as the king, while Protestant, favoured High Anglican worship. Charles enthusiastically supported Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud\u2019s moves to establish a greater sense of ceremony and hierarchy in the Church of England, as well as to re-introduce decoration and finery to worship. This meant railed altars rather than communion tables; stained glass windows and candles; ornamental vestments; and the enforcement of ritual, such as kneeling when receiving the Sacrament \u2013 all of which smacked of popery to many Protestants.<\/p>\n Laud followed up his reforms with persecution of the Puritans, especially those who criticised him. He had the Puritans William Prynne, John Bastwick and Henry Burton imprisoned during the 1630s for writing pamphlets or giving sermons attacking what they saw as a move towards Catholicism, and had their ears cut off. Prynne\u2019s cheeks were also branded with \u201cS L\u201d, meaning \u2018seditious libeller\u2019 \u2013 although he reclaimed it to mean \u2018Stigmata Laudis\u2019, the \u2018marks of Laud\u2019.<\/p>\n Those who opposed the reforms were tried in the Court of High Commission, convened by the king at will and wielding significant power, or the Star Chamber, an arm of the monarchy able to dish out fines and prison sentences. Both became symbols of royal oppression.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Charles wished his religious reforms to bring uniformity to the Church north of the border as well as England. But he was met with even more resistance by the mostly Presbyterian (an extreme form of Protestantism) Scots, who believed in a church government of representative assemblies and presbyteries, rather than the rule of bishops.<\/p>\n The catalyst was Charles\u2019s attempt to introduce a new Book of Common Prayer for Scotland, in 1637, which caused a riot when it was first used in St Giles\u2019 Cathedral in Edinburgh \u2013 legendarily started when a market-trader named Jenny Geddes threw her stool at the dean.<\/p>\n In 1638, a large number of Scottish nobles and churchmen signed the National Covenant, an agreement affirming their commitment to Presbyterianism, determination to defend the Church of Scotland, or Kirk, and rejection of English governance. Although the document urged loyalty to the king, Charles regarded the Covenant as an unacceptable challenge.<\/p>\n Charles was resolved to crush this national uprising, but his campaign eventually ended in disaster when the Scottish covenanters defeated his army at the battle of Newburn, near Newcastle, on 28 August 1640. The Scots occupied Northumberland and County Durham, forcing Charles to pay \u00a3850 a day to stop them advancing further into England.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n During the Bishops\u2019 Wars, Charles found himself in desperate need of funds for his army and so, in early 1640, he summoned his first parliament for 11 years. It assembled on 13 April, but instead of acquiescing to the king\u2019s request for money, MPs expressed more concern with addressing grievances with the policies from the past decade of Personal Rule.<\/p>\n It soon became clear that they would not support his war, and Charles dissolved the parliament after just three weeks, hence the name \u2018Short Parliament\u2019. Charles resumed the war anyway, without parliamentary support, but suffered his decisive loss at Newburn, in August 1640.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A humiliated and reluctant Charles had no choice but to call another parliament in 1640 to ensure he had the money to pay off the Scottish Covenanters who were refusing to leave northern England. This so-called \u2018Long Parliament\u2019 assembled in November and immediately went on the offensive. Led by the MP for Tavistock, John Pym, one of Parliament\u2019s first acts was to accuse Charles\u2019s much-hated chief minister Thomas Wentworth (the former lord deputy of Ireland and now Earl of Strafford), of high treason and ensure his execution.<\/p>\n The emboldened MPs passed an act ensuring Parliament would meet every three years, even if not summoned by the king, and could not be dissolved without its own consent. They simultaneously abolished the Court of High Commission and Star Chamber, and declared the forms of taxation Charles had been exploiting, such as ship money, illegal.<\/p>\n In November 1641, Parliament passed its \u2018Grand Remonstrance\u2019, a list of grievances totalling 204 points detailing their opposition to Charles\u2019s policies during his entire reign. Not all MPs, however, agreed with Pym and his allies, especially as they pushed for yet more radical changes, including the abolition of bishops and further curbs on royal power.<\/p>\nThe divine right of kings<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
Charles I\u2019s Personal Rule<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Religious divisions in England<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Charles wished his religious reforms to bring uniformity to the Church north of the border as well as England. But he was met with even more resistance by the mostly Presbyterian Scots <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
The Short Parliament<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
The Long Parliament<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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